Craig Conover Talks Paige Distancing Herself From ‘Southern Charm’ as Shep Labels Him “Strategic,” & Claims He and Taylor Would “Be Married” If It Weren’t for Show

Craig Conover is seen admitting that girlfriend Paige DeSorbo has been known to distance herself from the Southern Charm cast.

During a face-off with castmate Shep Rose, 43, Craig, 34, suggested that due to the cheating allegations Taylor Ann Green, 29, made against Paige, 31, she had a right to protect herself amid filming on season nine as Shep accused him of being “strategic” in his efforts to keep her off the show and shared how the series impacted his relationship with Taylor.

“Look, it’s really, really hard to have a relationship on camera and it put a lot of strain on me and Taylor,” Shep says.

Then, after host Andy Cohen, 56, asks Shep if Craig gets off scot-free because Paige isn’t around, Shep shares, “Well no.”

“He’s smart. He’s strategic in that manner because when you put it under the white-hot light and people start picking at loose threads, things can go really sideways,” he continues.

But after being questioned about his potential “strategy” for keeping his romance off-camera, for the most part, Craig insists he is not purposefully avoiding exposing his relationship on the show. That said, he adds that Paige has chosen to do so herself at times.

“I can’t say that there hasn’t been a time or two that Paige went up to her bedroom and was like, ‘I don’t wanna deal with the group right now,’ [and] rightfully so,” he states, giving a nod to Taylor saying she was cheating during an early episode of the season.

“And like, we’ve had some experiences with Shep that weren’t great. And I know Shep thinks we don’t get scrutinized but I also think that my relationship with Paige is a lot different than his relationship with Taylor,” Craig explains. “You guys broke up because of infidelity.”

Craig then asks Shep, “Do you think without the cameras and without us talking about it, that [split] wouldn’t have happened?”

“Yeah,” Shep replies. “We’d probably be married.”